I purchased an Akorn on sale at Lowe’s for $140. I have learned the nuances of the Akorn but it still takes adjusting the vents at times to maintain temps while doing long smokes. I was considering purchasing an Akorn Auto Kamado but saw this device and after reading reviews and watching videos of it I decided to purchase. It was shipped and delivered quickly. I purchased a 12lb brisket to smoke. After getting the charcoal to temp, I set the tip top temp to 225’ per instructions. I watched for 2 hours to make sure it was going to do as advertised. I put the brisket on at 10pm, watched it for some time and went to bed at 11:30pm. Woke the next morning at 6:40am, Akorn sitting at 240’, and brisket at 188’. The Akorn continued to cool down and after 12.5 hours brisket hit 203’ in the flat. The Tip top temp kept the Akorn between 220’ to 230’ most of the time and I suspect the 240 was due to a large lump being newly lit. Obviously I highly recommend this to anyone looking for an external heat maintenance device. No cords or batteries, just mechanical. Works amazingly well. Needless to say I will NOT be buying an Akorn Auto Kamado as the Tip Top Temp converts the original Akorn to an Auto Kamado. Again, Highly Recommend!!!
